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Topeka woman killed in head-on collision with semitrailer

Passenger in critical condition

A Topeka woman was killed Thursday in a head-on collision with a semitrailer near Hillsboro, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Joyce Smith, 82, of Topeka, was driving a 2011 Buick LaCrosse westbound on US-56 highway at 10:25 a.m. Grant A. Unruh, 29, of Hesston, was driving a 2003 Peterbilt semitrailer eastbound on US-56 highway. Smith failed to yield when turning into oncoming traffic and was hit by the semitrailer, according to KHP online crash logs.

Smith was killed. Her passenger, Jean E. Case, 85, of Marion, was flown to Wesley Medical Center in critical condition.

Smith and Case were wearing their seat belts.

Unruh, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, wasn’t injured, according to troopers.